When I said, “I do,” I meant it for life.
When he said, “I do,” he didn’t mean it at all.
Divorced and single, I’m ready to find true love.
When a business deal requires me to create an online dating account,
I find myself drawn to Mister_Mystery.
He’s not looking for love.
I’m not looking for another lie.
We decide to never meet.
But fate has something very different in mind.

EXCERPT REVEAL

“How did this happen?” I asked the blank walls of my apartment. I collapsed on my sofa, still in shock from my encounter at the coffee shop. On a whim, I had walked by Rex after work and wanted to give it a try. It was like fate had taken me there and then played a cruel joke on me. All week long, I’d wondered what had happened to Mister Mystery on the dating app. Now I knew. He was out of my league.

Wealthy.

Good looking.

Polished.

In the same category I’d put Lucian Black. Hell, he was Lucian Black. And he had to be worth millions—maybe more. My head was a mess. And he had a child, according to the pictures I’d found when I searched him online while walking through Central Park before coming home.

A child.

Words like “powerful mogul” and “strictly private” were common in the articles I’d found when I’d finally stopped at a bench to sit down. That seemed at odds with what I knew about Mister Mystery.

The articles had confirmed that he was divorced.

His ex-wife seemed to be something of a problem.

My head spun more. Part of me wished Lucian had tried to stop me from leaving. But he hadn’t. At least I knew… at least I knew. The conference calls and drab functions from my conversations with Mister Mystery made sense.

But a child. He had a child.

It was like déjà vu from my marriage to Braden, although logically I knew it wasn’t the same. But finding out like that was… jarring, to say the least.

Mister Mystery had never brought up a child. Not that he’d had to, of course. In fact, it made sense that he hadn’t. Children were precious and needed to be protected. But the news had shocked me. The entire situation shocked me.

I got a pint of ice cream and slipped on my fuzzy slippers before dropping onto the couch and staring at the wall. My phone vibrated. When I saw the name mister mystery flash across the screen, my heart stopped.

Mister_Mystery: And now that you’ve had time to think about what happened, what are your thoughts?

I took a big bite of the cookie dough ice cream and stared at the text. Another message came through. Mister Mystery could tell I had seen the message.

Mister_Mystery: I understand if you never want to talk to me again. I should have asked you to stay earlier so we could talk more. I haven’t handled this well.

I took another big bite.

Mister_Mystery: Have a good night, Addilyn.

It was odd to see him use my real name and not Aurora. I set the pint of ice cream aside so I could reply.

Me: I’m still in shock and I shouldn’t have searched your name online. It’s very… overwhelming.

Mister_Mystery: I’m just a guy, Addilyn.

Me: A guy with a lot of… exposure.

Mister_Mystery: That’s true at times. But my life is also very private.

Things felt awkward between us. Before, it had been easygoing. I was afraid our time was drawing to an end. I wasn’t in the right head space to make any type of decision. But I couldn’t get him out of my head, either. And was there really a decision to make? My heart beat a little faster now that I had a name and a face to go with the person I had gotten to know over the last month.

Mister_Mystery: Night, Addilyn. Sweet dreams.

Me: Night. Sweet dreams to you, too.

I closed out the app, unsure what to make of it all. I’m just a guy, Addilyn. What was that about? Had Lucian wanted to continue our conversation? Or was he just being nice? From the beginning, Lucian had been clear he wasn’t looking for any kind of relationship.

Minutes turned to hours as I sat on my couch and got lost in another old movie. My mind drifted to Lucian. His lean, muscular body, his dark hair, those enigmatic eyes. At nearly six in the morning, I had only nodded off every now and again for a few minutes each time. I brought out my phone.

Me: Did you sleep?

Me: I mean how’d you sleep?

Me: I mean good morning.

I groaned and threw back my head. Way to be smooth. Lucian saw the messages almost immediately.

Mister_Mystery: Good morning. I didn’t really sleep last night. You?

Me: Me either. Were you working?

Mister_Mystery: No. You?

Me: No.

Mister_Mystery: I think we both have a lot to say. Why don’t we meet?

I bit my lip. Yeah, I needed to talk to him a little more. At least for closure.

Me: When? Where?

Mister_Mystery: I’m north of Central Park.

Me: I’m west of Central Park.

Mister_Mystery: How about an hour? Meet me in Central Park at the hot chocolate stand near the carousel?

I knew the place well. It would be busy as the city had just opened the carousel for a special occasion. I wondered if Lucian picked that place specifically to make me feel comfortable.

Me: I’ll be there. See you soon.

Mister_Mystery: Until then.

MEET THE AUTHORS:

Kristin Mayer tries to live life to the fullest during every moment. She loves to travel, meet new people, and mark items off of her bucket list.

Published by Gin

I love books! I have been reading for as long as I can remember. I was the kid with the flashlight under the covers reading until the wee hours. Books were my refuge. I was delighted to discover tree climbing. I would take a book and climb to the top of a Mimosa tree and read for hours...and of course ignore my mother calling for me to do chores. I was committed to reading all of the Nancy Drew stories. Ned was my first book boyfriend. When I was in my early teens I discovered Harlequin romances. I feel in love and it changed my life. I was in love with Love 💕 That’s something for a girl who hadn’t been kissed yet. When I read “he thrust his throbbing member into her womanhood” I was lost to discovering more about this particular brand of romance.
But I don’t just enjoy romance reads. My father-in-law introduced me to the high fantasy genre and I loved it. When I bought my first Nook the world of books really took me by surprise. I was enthralled with all the available genres and to my delight I discovered erotica. In most cases, I was with family on visits to bookstores and you don’t peruse those even if they carried them. Oh the shame of it! ;)
Thanks to Nancy Drew I still enjoy mysteries along with romance, fantasy, erotica, paranormal, steampunk, thrillers, and well, most anything except a horror of a horror. My favorite might be romance suspense but it’s hard for me to pick just one.
I had a serious health issue a few years ago and was forced to quite working after building a career I could be proud of. It was devastating and depressing. I lost myself in books and now spend my days (and nights) reading. I am so appreciative of authors and the wonderful storytelling I’ve found in books. It takes me away from my troubles and introduces me into a world like no other. I love books!
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